SEDA DEMİRALP

Fighting assaults on women and children the right way SEDA DEMİRALP

Fighting assaults on women and children the right way

Eylül, Leyla, Evrim, and unfortunately many more... Turkey has been shaken by attacks on children. Several children were reported missing since Eid al-Fitr. Tragically, some were found murdered, others are still lost.

August 07 2018
Erdoğan’s gain but the AKP’s loss SEDA DEMİRALP

Erdoğan’s gain but the AKP’s loss?

On June 24, Turkey had its first elections after the 2017 referendum, which had changed the political system from a parliamentary system to a presidential system. Turkish citizens voted for both their new president and members of parliament. The elections brought another victory for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, allowing him to further tighten his grip on power. Not only did he secure himself another term, after already being in power for 16 years, his new position granted him even more powers than his previous posts, as prime minister (2002-2014) and president (2014-2018).

July 03 2018
Decentralization in Turkish higher education SEDA DEMİRALP

Decentralization in Turkish higher education?

Important changes are taking place in Turkish universities. These changes are significant for their own sake, as well as for presenting insight into the centralized institutional culture that dominates many universities in Turkey.

June 14 2018
A stronger rule of law requires bridging Turkey’s income gap SEDA DEMİRALP

A stronger rule of law requires bridging Turkey’s income gap

Turkey is heading to early elections. On June 24 citizens will elect the first president since the transition to presidential system, narrowly approved in the controversial April 2017 referendum.

May 01 2018
Does Erdoğan intend to open the doors of ijtihad SEDA DEMİRALP

Does Erdoğan intend to open the doors of ijtihad?

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s comments in a speech on March 8 about the need to “adapt” Islam are continuing to stir debates in conservative circles in Turkey, though they did not receive the attention deserved from more secular groups. 

March 26 2018
Divisions between feminists and Islamist womens rights activists in Turkey SEDA DEMİRALP

Divisions between feminists and Islamist women's rights activists in Turkey

The past two weeks have seen a number of events organized by different women’s rights groups in Turkey to mark March 8 International Women’s Day. One of the events I participated in was the three-day Muslim Women’s Summit, hosted by the World Islamic Forum and the Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies (TASAM).

March 12 2018
Prospects of change in Turkey SEDA DEMİRALP

Prospects of change in Turkey

As the 2019 presidential elections approach, change has gained a more profound meaning to many voters in Turkey. Ruled by the same party and leader since 2002, an unusually long time for a competitive political system, many people in Turkey wonder when and how change can possibly happen.

February 15 2018
Will Abdullah Gül lead the way to change in Turkish politics SEDA DEMİRALP

Will Abdullah Gül lead the way to change in Turkish politics?

As Turkey’s 2019 presidential elections approach, many are wondering if anyone stands a chance against incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has won every election he entered since 2002. The circulation of power, which is routine in democracies, has not taken place in Turkey for the past 16 years. Whether that will change in 2019 is a big question.

January 25 2018
Changes to traffic laws show weakness of Turkish middle class SEDA DEMİRALP

Changes to traffic laws show weakness of Turkish middle class

Deputy Prime Minister Şimşek recently announced that the 2017 changes to traffic (third party) insurance legislation for high-risk drivers will be maintained in 2018.

December 31 2017